Calling all WWII veterans

By Rick Catlin. Islander Reporter

Many readers in the Islander circulation area, including many World War II veterans, are now back north in cooler climates.

Although I’ve been writing the WWII veteran stories for the past four years in the bi-weekly “Greatest Generation” column, there are still veterans in our distribution area that I haven’t been able to reach, including some who are year-’round residents. At present, I have no one on my list of contacts for the column.

If you are a WWII veteran or have a friend who is a WWII veteran that has not had his story printed in The Islander, please contact me at 941-778-7978.

This is a fraternity that is not accepting new members, and I believe every veteran of the war has a story to tell, whether he was a cook stateside, or a combat veteran of the frontlines in Europe or the Pacific.

Some veterans have expressed a reluctance to tell their story, saying it’s something they’ve tried to forget.

I understand that. My father was a WWII veteran and spoke very little about his experiences. I’m also a veteran, although my war was 20 years later in the jungles of southeast Asia.

The point is simply to have your story told so that you can give something personal of yourself to your children, grandchildren and great-grandkids. It is your story.

The columns are not written to glorify war or those who wore a uniform during the conflict, but simply to tell the story of ordinary people in extraordinary times. I look forward to meeting and talking with each and every member of “The Greatest Generation.”

“The Greatest Generation” column is for Island, Longboat Key, Perico Island and Cortez veterans, man or woman, who served in the armed forces of any allied country (U.S., Canada, Britain, Holland, Norway, France, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, etc.) during World War II.

Get breaking news

Sign up to receive breaking news alerts
via e-mail. We'll send you a notice when the news and classifieds
appear online every week, before the print edition hits the streets.